For the Friend Who Has Everything
by Ari Moriarty
Summary: Another exciting collaboration with Supernova23! Huzzah! Two snapshots of the trials and tribulations that Junpei and Naoto go through in the midst of birthday shopping for each other. Companion piece to the "What Cannot Be Broken" stories.
1. One - Junpei

**Ari's Note: **This story is the product of a challenge that **Supernova23** and I did together in honor of his recent birthday! Happy birthday to my awesome collaboration partner!

Theoretically, both stories in this fic, including the one written by **Supernova23** fall into the same timeline as the **What Cannot Be Broken**stories. I hope you enjoy!

"Crap," muttered Junpei Iori, standing in the center of the Inaba shopping district, looking puzzled, disappointed, and at a complete loss. "Why me, huh? I've never been good at this present thing…I mean, girls usually get whatever they really want for themselves, right?"

Then again, he reminded himself, Naoto Shirogane wasn't exactly a typical "girl" which somehow only made the situation worse.

The whole mess had begun a few days ago, when he and Naoto had gotten into a heated argument at the Junes food court about their particular tastes in modern literature. It wasn't the sort of argument that Junpei usually got into, because even he had to confess that the only thing he'd voluntarily read since he'd graduated from high school were the local newspapers and some old vintage comic books that he'd found when he'd gone to clean out his dad's old house. Junpei was more an action kind of guy, and less of a reader. He'd rather be out in the real world making changes and getting shit done than sitting on his ass in a corner reading a book about some other guy. He was the last person in the world who'd ever get caught in a literary debate with anybody, usually.

That day, though, had been different. That day, he'd finally forced himself to finish this weird ass detective novel that Minako had insisted was one of the "most enlightening pieces of modern fiction." She'd begged him to read it, and somehow Junpei's heart just melted when it came to Minako. He was like putty in her hands. She was like the little sister that he'd never had, and when she wanted something from him, she usually got it.

So, in the end of course, he'd read the damn book, and after slogging through the whole thing, trying not to fall asleep during several of the sections that Minako seemed to think were so incredibly brilliant, he'd decided that day at the food court to give her an earful of how he really felt about the drivel that she'd just forced him to read.

"I don't get this whole 'female detective thing,' he'd told her, rolling his eyes and pulling a face while gesturing to the picture on the book cover. It was a picture of a very attractive woman wearing a very tight shirt, holding a gun at a totally ridiculous angle, which was apparently supposed to prove that she was some kind of serious badass. "I mean, okay, I get that, like, feminine wiles, and sex appeal and that stuff can be really useful, but…man, that shit only goes so far, right? In the end a real detective, or superhero, or any kind of badass needs to be fast, strong, and good with a weapon…and let's face it, men are just better at that stuff. Hey, we spend less time worrying about clothes and makeup, and more time thinking about how to get the job done! Man, there's a whole chapter in this book about her figuring uot how to wear makeup for the first time. Seriously? No guy would ever care about that! When the bad guy was creeping up on her, she'd be too busy thinking about her makeup to take him out! You see what I'm saying? Women just don't make for good detectives, literary or otherwise."

Minako's eyes had opened wide, and Junpei had thought, for a moment, that she was pissed at him for saying all of that stuff. Then she'd glanced warily back over her shoulder, and he'd realized with a sinking sort of dread in his soul that Naoto Shirogane, the Detective Prince herself, was sitting at the next table, watching them with a kind of angry sparkle in her eye that made even Junpei's manly soul quail a little bit inside him.

She hadn't said anything. She'd just stood up quietly, nodded to Minako, and then stalked away.

"Now you've really done it," Minako had muttered, as she and Junpei had both watched Naoto's retreating back.

Now, several days later, it was Naoto Shirogane's birthday, and Junpei knew that this was opportunity to make amends with a woman who was supposedly a part of his shadow-fighting team. It was important, he knew, to make sure that he and Naoto made up enough to get back to work together. The tension between them was awkward enough to distract from the patrol schedule, anyway.

The problem was, he had no idea what he was supposed to get Naoto as a gift. He was bad enough at this sort of thing, and the awkward tension between them made it even harder. After all, a Shiroku gift card just didn't seem to get the right message across, and any fancy discounted weapon from Daidara's would seem more like a threat than a birthday wish.

With nothing else to do, and his desperation beginning to build, Junpei walked in to Tatsumi Textiles, and was relieved to find Kanji Tatsumi himself standing around and looking bored behind the counter.

"Kanji-kun! Man, am I glad to see you!" announced Junpei. "Hey, listen, you know how it's Naoto's birthday today, and all?"

"Uh…yeah, obviously," muttered Kanji. "What about it?"

"Well," continued Junpei, "I was just trying to think of what would be a good gift for her, you know? But uh…I can't think of anything. So, I was hoping that maybe you, being the master of all things arts and crafts, would have some ideas!" He grinned, and then sighed, shaking his head. "Come on, please, help me out, I'm begging you! Anything you've got, seriously. I'm completely lost."

Unexpectedly, Kanji's eyes narrowed, and he frowned as he watched Junpei's face.

"Why do you have to get her a present?" asked Kanji suspiciously. "It's not like you two are really close, or anything."

Junpei blinked. "Wait, what? No, it's not like that, I just thought that I should-!"

"So, maybe you should just stay out of it," continued Kanji, giving Junpei a look that would have freaked out even the most battle-hardened, masculine detective hero. "Just leave her alone, okay?"

Junpei left the shop very quickly, feeling even more frustrated than he had when he'd gone in.

As he wandered through the shopping center, Junpei glanced up at the bookstore window and saw that the horrible book about that detective girl was now on sale. That the racy book cover picture of the woman with the gun was plastered all over the store banners and advertisements.

He sighed. The racy picture glared down at him with its gun pointed in his general direction.

"Okay," muttered Junpei. "I got it, I got it. Jeez…what a drag."

Slowly, dragging his feet reluctantly across the pavement, he made his way over to the food court, where he could already see Rise, Naoto, and Chie seated around one of the tables, engaged in animated conversation. There were several large boxes piled up in front of Naoto, although she didn't seem to notice them or to have any interest in them. She wouldn't, thought Junpei sourly. She was way too cool for presents.

"Hey, ladies!" he announced, stepping over to them and flashing them his most debonair smile.

Rise, Chie, and Naoto all deadpanned him.

"What do you want?" asked Rise.

"Hehe, uh, well…" Junpei fumbled for the right words. "Hey, uh, Naoto-kun! I heard it was your birthday today!"

Naoto and Chie exchanged an unreadable look. "You are correct," Naoto informed him.

"Right!" Junpei could feel the sweat gathering on the back of his neck. "Okay! Yeah! So…um…see, I wanted to get you something, cause…like you said, it's your birthday, but uh…things haven't been so good between us lately, right?"

Naoto didn't say anything. She kept watching him with slight interest, as though he were some new and unexpected species of stink bug.

"Aaaand….so, I thought that, uh, really I guess that I…uh…"

Junpei shot a hopeful look at Rise, who shook her head, as if to tell him that this time he was entirely on his own.

Junpei sighed. "Jeez," he muttered. "I'm sorry about all that shit I said about female detectives, okay? I didn't mean it like that; I just thought it was a stupid book. I wasn't talking about you or anything. I shoulda kept my damn mouth shut."

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed, while Junpei held his breath. Then, Naoto smiled.

"I am forced to agree with you," she murmured."It was indeed a very stupid book."

Junpei breathed out a long sigh of relief. "Right," he agreed. "So, that's all I meant by it, okay?"

Rise pulled out a chair for him, and he settled into it, as Chie started laughing.

"Gee, Naoto, what a great birthday gift!" she said. "A real life apology from the great Junpei Iori! It's not every day that you get one of those, right?"


	2. Two - Naoto

**Ari's Note: **Ooh, and this one was written by SuperNova23! It's truly wonderful! I think this may be my favorite of the collaborations we've done so far!

Naoto Shirogane always prided herself on her intelligence and rational logic. She was able to solve puzzles quickly. She had solved two dozen cases on her own, and had helped her grandfather on many more before that. She had figured out that Yu-senpai and the others were rescuing people before even getting her own persona. She had shown him how to properly solve a Rubix cube. She was a queen at scrabble, and checkers, and…

And she had a bad habit of going on tangents. The point is that she's great at puzzles.

So why was this puzzle so hard to solve?

She wasn't one for birthday gifts. Normally she'd just observe her teammates and buy them a gift card to one of the stores they frequented, but that didn't work in this case. Mostly because she didn't really know this person. He was a comrade-at-arms, but that was it.

She had nothing to buy for Junpei Iori.

She was running out of time. Normally she wouldn't get a gift for someone outside her little circle of friends, but ever since they started working together, she knew that she was obligated to get a gift. It wasn't that she didn't want to get him something; it was that she had no idea what to get him.

This was why she found herself outside Marukyu Tofu. Rise knew Junpei pretty well, and she'd have an idea on what to get. She walked into the store where she saw Rise's grandma. "Hello, Oh Naoto-kun! Are you here to see Rise?"

"If she's here. Is she available?"

"Let me just check." She called upstairs. "Rise? Your friend's here!"

A hoarse voice replied, "Send them up Grandma." After that, a chorus of coughing was heard clearly.

Naoto bowed to Rise's grandma, before hesitantly heading upstairs. "Hey Naoto-kun." She said, her voice sounding really hoarse.

Naoto's other questions were dropped for a new one. "What's wrong with your voice?"

"Oh, this?" She asked before erupting into another coughing fit. "I've been overdoing it at voice training, but I got this done~" She said, holding a CD.

Naoto was intrigued. "What is that?"

Rise beamed. "This is a special, one-of-a-kind demo CD with some of my new songs. I'm gonna give it to Junpei-kun on his birthday. Great idea. Right?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you about." Naoto swallowed. "I don't know what to get for him. I figured you could help."

Rise sighed. "Gee, Naoto-kun, I really wish I could." Naoto's face fell as Rise dashed her hopes. "But if I tell you what to get to get, it won't mean anything special. You've gotta do this yourself."

Naoto was willing to beg her classmate for help. "Please Rise. Can't you read his mind or something next time in the TV?" Rise just shook her head, her pigtails flying around.

"Nuh-uh. Naoto-kun, you gotta this on your own. Good luck!"

Naoto left the shop with a dejected look on her face, though she expertly hid it for Rise's grandmother. Once outside, she let out a large sigh. Her first option was shut down so she went to her second.

This involved four hours of waiting, since she wasn't needed at the police station, which had resulted in Dojima banning her since she only showed up for free coffee. Steeling herself, she walked in anyways.

"Shirogane?" A gruff voice asked as soon as she got in. "I told you. Buy your own coffee." Dojima was just pulling on his coat as she walked in.

"My apologies, Dojima-san." She said, nodding her head in a curt bow. "I actually need to speak to Arisato-san." She really needed to break that habit of being so formal all the time.

Dojima gave her a grunt in response. "Alright. I'm going to get Nanako from her piano lesson. Make sure she doesn't hurt herself." He said before leaving. As soon as he left, Naoto made a point to pour herself some coffee before going to Minako's desk.

The woman was just finishing up a phone call as Naoto pulled up a chair. "Oh, Naoto-kun!" She said, recognizing her footfalls. She sniffed the air. "I thought Dojima-san told you to stop stealing coffee."

She felt no need to supress the smile on her face, though sadly, Minako couldn't see it. "He isn't here, and you won't rat me out. But that's beside the point." She said, making sure to keep the conversation on-topic. "What does Iori-san like?"

Minako's look brightened considerably. "Hmm, it has been a long time, but I can tell you what he used to like." Naoto prepared her notepad to write down ideas.

"Well, he and I would always watch Featherman R in the dorm lounge, and Ken-kun joined us when he started staying with us. He also likes…" Naoto diligently took notes, and Minako went on for over an hour with little anecdotal notes. At the end of the discussion it was dark out, so Naoto found herself walking Minako home. When they got to her doorstep, she gave a cheerful smile and said, "I hope any of that was helpful!"

Naoto tapped her wrist, as it was the only form of acknowledgement she could think of. "I'm sure this will prove very helpful. Thank you, Minako-san."

"Anytime, Naoto-kun."

She quickly began to pore over her list. She scratched off Featherman as they had all the costumes, and she didn't know his size. Maybe Yosuke's would fit, but she was _not_ giving someone hand-me-down spandex. Other options such as giant robots seemed insanely cool, but Naoto firmly resolved that if she ever acquired a giant robot, she was keeping it. He liked pets, as he and Koromaru had supposedly joined together in the Abyss of Time fiasco a month after Minako's passing, but the only animals she knew were the neighbourhood cats, the fox at Tatsuhime Shrine, and Teddie, none of which she wanted to get especially close to, for different reasons.

The last item caught her interest however, and she remembered Minako's anecdote clearly:

"_He really likes baseball. Yukari and Fuuka were always asking him to change the channel, but he was really into it. I think he wanted to become a big player someday. He even used what he learned in battle. When he could, he's send Shadows flying with the flat of his sword."_

"_And that worked?"_

"_For the first two weeks, I was using a hockey stick. Most things work. Though a few times, he was able to hit Strega's grenades back at them before they exploded."_

Naoto knew what she needed to get. Considering the time of night, though, she'd have to wait until the morning.

The next day, Junpei and Minako were at the Junes Food Court, while in Investigation team began to trickle in and hand over their gifts. Even Nanako showed up with some chocolates for him. Two members were strangely absent from the party though. Well, one was expected: Yosuke had made himself scarce from the store that day.

"Where's Naoto-kun?" Yu asked. "She should be here by now."

Rise shrugged. "I dunno. I suppose she's busy. Oh well-" She was cut off by Naoto dashing into the food court, dropping a gift on the table. "Happy birthday, Iori- I mean, Junpei-kun."

She walked away as Junpei shrugged. "Uh, thank you, Naoto-kun." He opened it, finding a baseball glove and tried it on.

Naoto was waiting where she whipped a baseball at him. His Shadow-fighting reflexes kicked in and he raised his hand to catch it in the glove. "Dude? What the hell?" Junpei cried.

She grinned, pulling her own glove out. "Just making sure you still had some baseball skill? Fancy a game of catch?"

Junpei threw the ball back to her as Rise and Minako laughed. Naoto crossed her arms. "And what exactly is so funny?"

They giggled again as Rise said, "Nothing. Just don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Naoto smirked. "So I can also take him to dinner and a movie?"

Minako doubled over with laughter as a dark look grew on Rise's face. "Have him back by five."

Naoto saluted, "Yes Ma'am." Before running off after Junpei, leaving Rise fuming and Minako in a laughing fit to rival one of Yukiko's.


End file.
